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This story appears in the Dec. 16 print edition of Transport Topics.

XPO Logistics Inc. said it has agreed to purchase NLM, a Web-based freight auction site, from Landstar System Inc. for $87 million in cash.

“There are a lot of synergies with our other businesses,” Bradley Jacobs, CEO of XPO, told Transport Topics on Dec. 11.

He said NLM’s business gives XPO new relationships with shippers, particularly customers in the automotive, consumer electronics and retail sectors.

“We are always looking for something special, unique and different. This fits the bill,” Jacobs said.

XPO has acquired 10 companies since May 2012, with annual revenue now topping $1 billion. The sale price for NLM, or National Logistics Management, is the second highest, topped only by the price XPO paid — $365 million — for last-mile delivery specialist 3PD.

Landstar announced an after-tax gain on the sale of $32 million, or 71 cents per share. It also announced a special dividend of 35 cents a share, payable Jan. 16 to shareholders as of Dec. 27.

Landstar bought two companies in 2009 — Premier Logistics and A3 Integration — which were combined into a supply chain unit, including NLM.

“This transaction offers Landstar and its stockholders an excellent return on the two investments the company made in 2009,” CEO Henry Gerkens said.

Gerkens said in a statement that the unit being sold “is better suited for a company store-type operation rather than Landstar’s core agent-based model.”

NLM offers managed transportation, taking shipments offered over the Internet, Jacobs said. NLM then places those shipments on its bid board, where carriers submit offers.

Officials at NLM award each load based on criteria such as price or service standards the customer provides in advance.

NLM moved $500 million of freight — or about 450,000 loads — in the past 12 months and has a staff of 123 people, Jacobs said. Its revenue, based on fees for managing shipments, was $23.4 million.

NLM’s earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation were $9.8 million over the past 12 months, according to XPO.

The deal is expected to close in January.

Landstar, based in Jacksonville, Fla., ranks No. 9 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

XPO, with headquarters in Greenwich, Conn., ranks No. 45 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of logistics companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico, based on revenue.

Landstar also announced an increase of 3 million shares in its stock-repurchase program.

The price includes between $10 million and $13 million in cash that will be left after the sale, Jacobs said, making the real purchase price between $74 million and $77 million.

“Landstar’s overall strategy and focus will continue to include growing our core business model by investing in technological solutions and businesses that support and expand our agent, customer and third-party capacity provider base,” Gerkens said.